Is Flash Bad?

It seems that the use of Flash on the web has really declined in recent years. Admittedly, the pointless Flash website intros, that were the norm a few years ago, can actually hinder the success of your website, by creating an unnecessary barrier between your visitor and your content. But I’ve seen an increase in blanket statements lately that just say “Flash is BAD” and that it will only hurt your website.

Quite frankly, this is garbage. There are still many uses for Flash that can have a positive effect on your web presence. Yes, creating large websites entirely in Flash isn’t the best idea, if only for the fact that a Flash website is essentially treated as one page by search engines, regardless of how much content you have. This can have a negative impact on your search engine ranking, if you’re trying to target numerous distinct keyword phrases. It’s quite acceptable to create Flash microsites though. Because they are small and highly focused, you can easily get away with just optimising the root domain for search engines and you’re free to take full advantage of the enhanced visuals and animation that Flash can provide.

It’s also possible to embed Flash elements within a static HTML site. This can provide advanced functionality that would be difficult, if not impossible to achieve with HTML and client side scripting alone. Things like work slideshows, Flash games, interactive product selection & customisation tools and other interactive elements can really enhance a website. In fact, we just tested something as simple as a Flash work slideshow on a website homepage, this alone dramatically reduced the website bounce rate. So don’t listen to those blanket “Flash is BAD” statements. Flash, in numerous cases can be GOOD.